A good guide book should be small and thin enough to be easily stored in the map pocket of a waterproof, or put handily in the same travelling-light backpack that contains your map, your first aid-kit, your GPS, your emergency flares, your phrase book and the emergency one hundred dollar bribe that could, quite literally, save your arse in some more backwards countries, but should be large and thick enough to stop a spearpoint, arrow or rebel bullet from actually entering your flesh when being shot or pointed at in sunnier climes.

In a perfect world, it would also repel magic, but that is a pretty tall ask.

The Lonely Planet guide to Ireland is, however, something of an enchanted book. It manages to fit one hell of a lot into 764 pages and still manages to go into the sort of detail and make the sort of comment about places that conveys something of the nature of Ireland itself, an informal easygoing charm and ready delight.

The maps, in particular, were very well thought out and useful. It was by looking at the map of County Cork that we realised that the Drombeg Stone Circle was not far off our route for that day from Cork to Glengarriff. ‘Not far off’ meant, of course, a twisty turny roundabouty route from the main road to the stone circle itself, but it was well worth the trip and an unforgettable place to visit, with the circle sitting in the arms of the hills looking out onto the Atlantic and, upon the stones, the small offerings of coins and flowers that people had made. If we had not had the guide book, we would not have known to look for it. And if we had not had the guide book, we would not have found the place, as the sat nav was no help along the back lanes (a farm track ending in a small car park) we instead relied on the directions in the guide book and arrived there no problem. Not bad.

It was also based on the warmth of the review of McCarthy’s Bar in Castletown that we visited that particular McCarthy’s Bar out of so many. It was a spectacular drive through stunning scenery but the Bar itself was everything that one could wish for; a grocery store at the front, a bar at the back and, it has to be said, hands down the best Guinness in Ireland, and that includes the one we sampled at the Guinness brewery.

But if you think that they take their drink seriously out there (and they do), that’s nothing compared to how seriously they take their food (or indeed a combination of the two, County Cork was, after all, where I encountered women breastfeeding their babies in a bar. Twice. One while having a conversation with me. Not that I’m complaining, I think you should start the kids young, it’s just that you have to stop yourself from commenting ‘ah, draught rather than bottle eh?’) and the guide reflects that too. One excellent steer in Cork was the English Market where the guide suggested picking up the makings of a picnic. This we did, but the market itself is an astonishing place to visit, featuring a fish counter sixty feet long with a lobster tank at one end and a portable mussel bed at the other.

With only the vague idea that we wanted to go from Cork to Dublin, it was reading the guide that drew us out to the wild west Atlantic shore, and it was the guide that convinced us to go North to Dublin via the Killarney National Park – which turned out to be one of the high points of the holiday.

But it was the detail that impressed me. Ireland has a lot, and I mean a lot, of small towns, and according to the guide they all have at least one thing to see and at least one good place to eat and drink and they are listed here. Indeed, it was like having a friendly local letting you in on the secret of where to go to get the best of Ireland. ( )

travel, europe, vacation, ireland, sights, visit, guidebook